State Senator Joe Kyrillos at the opening of the new bridge in May, 2015. Freehold John Curley is at left. Below, a Google Satellite view of the bridge. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

For who knows how long, the West Front Front Street bridge connecting Red Bank and Middletown has been colloquially known as “Hubbard’s Bridge.” To Monmouth County, which owns the span and replaced it three years ago, it’s “S-17.”

As of Thursday, though, the 488-foot connector over the upper Navesink River has a new name: the “Senator Joseph M. Kyrillos Bridge.”

The Oceanic Bridge between Rumson and Middletown is in “critical” condition, according to the Monmouth County Engineer’s office, and officials plan to unveil “conceptual alternatives” for its replacement or repair at meetings slated in each town today.

Less than a week after its last overnight closing, the Rumson-Sea Bright Bridge will again be closed overnight tonight from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. Thursday, according to signage posted this morning. (Photo by Trish Russoniello. Click to enlarge)

Monmouth County Bridge S-32, better known as a the Rumson-Sea Bright Bridge, will be closed overnight from 8 p.m. Thursday to 6 a.m. Friday for regular maintenance to the center bascule, Monmouth County officials announced Wednesday.

Detours will be posted, as the span will be closed to vehicular and pedestrian traffic. (Photo by Trish Russoniello. Click to enlarge)

Monmouth County Bridge S-32, better known as a the Rumson-Sea Bright Bridge, is slated for replacement, and the county’s engineering department plans to hold two informational sessions on the Shrewsbury River span’s design next week. Read More »

Contrary to multiple alerts about overnight closings from Monmouth County, which owns the bridge, as well as from the two towns the bridge connects, paving work that was to have been done this week hasn’t been, with the latest postponement occurring on Thursday.

A county spokeswoman offered no reason for the inactivity, but said the county is on track to complete all work on the new West Front Street span by the end of April. Meantime, the overnight closures for the paving work have not yet been rescheduled, she said.(Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

The paving of Hubbard’s Bridge on West Front Street between Red Bank and Middletown will require an additional night of closure between 8 p.m. Thursday and 6 a.m. Friday, according to an alert from Red Bank borough. Monmouth County officials had previously expected the work to be finished Wednesday night. Motorists are advised to plan alternate routes.

Hubbard’s Bridge on West Front Street between Red Bank and Middletown will be closed for paving from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to an alert from Red Bank borough. Motorists are advised to plan alternate routes. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

Commuters who travel between Little Silver and Oceanport via Oceanport Avenue are in for some changes to their routine.

Beginning on or about January 12, the Oceanport Avenue bridge will be closed from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays for several weeks of repairs, according to Oceanport police. Detours via the nearby Goosenck Bridge will be in effect. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

Traffic was heavy on Bridge Avenue and other roads surrounding Hubbard’s Bridge during Wednesday’s morning rush. Below, an unidentified worker carries a granite block, one of many such paving stones and old red bricks unearthed during the first day of work on the intersection on the Red Bank side of the span. (Photo below by Trish Russoniello. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Message to motorists stuck in the somewhat-suddenly-worse-again traffic surrounding Hubbard’s Bridge between Middletown and Red Bank: think of the kids.

A crew from Richard Grubb & Associates, under contract to Monmouth County, was out doing archaeological work just east of the Rumson-Sea Bright Bridge Tuesday morning. The property, which will be used in the approach to a replacement bridge across the Shrewsbury River, was once the site of a mansion, built in 1890 by Mrs. John G. Neeser, that was later owned by longtime Mayor and United States Senator and William Warren Barbour. According to county spokeswoman Laura Kirkpatrick, the aim of the monthlong dig is to determine if any artifacts from the late 19th century or prior might be buried there, with a number of five-foot-by-five-foot holes dug and refilled by the end of each day.

Construction of of the new span – seen in white in the concept plan above right – may begin by 2018, Kirkpatrick said. (Photo above by John T. Ward, at right by Wil Fulton. Click to enlarge)

Boaters and kayakers shared the Navesink River with a construction barge at the Oceanic Bridge on Monday, Memorial Day. The 75-year-old span, which links Rumson and Middletown, was scheduled to close to all but marine traffic starting at 6 a.m. Tuesday for repairs to the steel bascule.

During repairs in April, deterioration was discovered in two areas of the bascule not previously accessible, Monmouth County officials said last month. The latest repairs are expected to wrap up with a reopening of the bridge on Saturday, June 13. In the meantime, seasonal rules and scheduling will be in effect for marine traffic. (Photo by Peter Lindner. Click to enlarge)

The first few cars of eastbound traffic head toward Red Bank over the the new West Front Street bridge between Red Bank and Middletown Monday morning. Below, Red Bank Marina owner Steve Remaley with Red Bank Councilman Mike DuPont. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Slightly over budget but on time, the new West Front Street bridge linking Red Bank and Middletown opened Monday morning, replacing a clanging “temporary” structure amid forecasts that it might last for 75 or more years.

Though cosmetic work on the bridge will continue for several weeks, the opening – on the cusp of the summer season, and with a temporary closure of the nearby Oceanic Bridge about to begin – marked a victory against a ticking clock, Freeholder Tom Arnone told redbankgreen.

“It was all-hands-on” to get the bridge open after a five-month closure, he said.

As seen in these photos taken Sunday afternoon, the new Hubbard’s Bridge between Red Bank and Middletown still has a punchlist of unfinished details, such as the installation of decorative lamps, as seen at right. Still, the span is slated to open Monday with a 10 a.m. ribbon cutting on the Middletown side, Monmouth County officials said Friday.

Above is a view from the Middletown side, including a new “overheight vehicle” warning drivers of trucks and other large vehicles of the 10-foot, 11-inch trestle clearance on the Red Bank side that has claimed many a truck roof. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

An unofficial count put runner Julie Buffardi of Red Bank, above, as the fourth pedestrian to cross the new Hubbard’s Bridge between Red Bank and Middletown after it was opened to pedestrians and bicyclists Saturday afternoon.

The span is slated to open Monday with a 10 a.m. ribbon cutting on the Middletown side, Monmouth County officials said Friday. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

After nearly five months of detours affecting thousands of commuters, the new Hubbard’s Bridge between Red Bank and Middletown is slated to open Monday with a 10 a.m. ribbon cutting on the Middletown side, Monmouth County officials said Friday.

A worker on the site told redbankgreen that the new span – shown at right in red, just north of the “temporary” bridge it replaces – may open to traffic on Sunday. But Red Bank police Chief Darren McConnell that he was unaware of any plans for an early opening. (Photos by Trish Russoniello. Click to enlarge)

With one month to go before a self-imposed completion deadline, the new Hubbard’s Bridge between Red Bank and Middletown appeared to be making rapid progress last Friday. The semblance of a roadway appeared between the bridge deck and West Front Street in Middletown, above, and parapet walls that line the northern edge of the span were tied into the existing retaining wall of a residential property, as seen at right.

The existing temporary steel span that adjoins the new bridge has been closed to vehicular trafic since the start of the year, but remains open to pedestrians and bicyclists. Monmouth County officials say the new bridge will open May 17. (Photos by Trish Russoniello. Click to enlarge)

Both drivers were taken to Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank following a rear-end accident on the Rumson-Sea Bright Bridge at 10:12 a.m. Tuesday, according to Rumson police. The extent of their injuries and other information was not immediately available. The bridge was briefly closed to traffic. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

Parapets similar to those on the nearby Route 35 Cooper’s Bridge were being installed on the new Hubbard’s Bridge between Red Bank and Middletown last week, as seen from the existing temporary steel span, which has been closed since the start of the year but remains open to pedestrians and bicyclists.

Despite the harsh winter, the Monmouth County Engineer’s office still expects the new bridge, which spans the Swimming River at West Front Street, to be completed by May 16, a spokeswoman tells redbankgreen. (Photo above by Trish Russoniello. Click to enlarge)

Overnight closures of the Oceanic Bridge between Middletown and Rumson are scheduled to begin Tuesday night as ongoing repair work to the 75-year-old span continues, according to Monmouth County officials.

Traffic will be shut down from 10:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m., Sunday through Friday morning, until April 30. A routine of single-lane closures during the day is already in effect to enable the contactor, George Harms Construction Company of Howell, to perform required work above and below the bridge deck, according to a county press release. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)